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Fantasy Football Managers Lament Jonathan Taylor's Ankle Injury as Playoffs Begin
December 17, 2022
Fantasy football managers were dealt a major blow Saturday when Indianapolis Colts running back Jonathan Taylor was ruled out early in Indy's game against the Minnesota Vikings with an ankle injury.
After making a catch for 13 yards, Taylor left the field and entered the blue injury tent. It was determined shortly thereafter that he would not be able to return, leaving Deon Jackson and Zack Moss to split the backfield duties.
In what is the first week of the playoffs in many fantasy football leagues, Taylor finished with a mere 2.3 points in point-per-reception leagues and 1.3 points in standard leagues.
Amid Taylor's exit, many took to Twitter to bemoan the misfortune of fantasy football managers to roster JT:
After Taylor rushed for an NFL-high 1,811 yards and 18 touchdowns last season, he was the consensus No. 1 overall pick in most fantasy leagues for 2022.
Aside from a 161-yard, one-touchdown effort in Week 1, Taylor got off to a slow start, however, and has been unable to come close to matching last season's production.
In five games after his Week 1 performance, Taylor rushed for 76 yards or fewer each time and didn't score a single touchdown.
He was much better in the next four games, however, rushing for at least 82 yards in each game and scoring three touchdowns. Taylor entered Saturday having rushed for 861 yards and four touchdowns on the year.
Given his strong play over the past months, fantasy football managers with Taylor on their team likely entered the fantasy playoffs with high hopes, but now they have a deep hole to dig out from.